Who knew? Ku Klux Klan active in Germany

America and Germany have always had a robust cultural exchange. The American Nazi Party has been around since the inception of the NSDAP in Germany in the 1920s.  But until last week I had no idea that the Ku Klux Klan - that quintessential American racist group - had a sister organization in Germany: 

A racism scandal is unfolding in Germany this week following the revelation that two police officers in the southern state of Baden-Württemberg had been members of a German spin-off group of the Klu Klux Klan. The two men are still serving in uniform -- one on the normal police force and the other as a squad commander for riot-control police. The state's Interior Ministry on Wednesday confirmed reports that the men had been involved with a group that called itself the European White Knights of the Klu Klux Klan (EWK).

The development has left many officials dumbfounded. How, they are asking, could public officers who swear an oath to protect the constitution have been members of a racist organization? Officials first uncovered the links during an ongoing investigation of the murderous National Socialist Underground (NSU) neo-Nazi terror cell. Between 2000 and 2007, the group allegedly murdered at least nine small businessmen of mainly Turkish descent, along with one policewoman, Michèle Kiesewetter. The two police officers with alleged Klu Klux Klan links also happened to be Kiesewetter's former colleagues.

Some background on the German Klan can be found on the quite informative blog  of the Teutonic Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in North Rhine Westphalia.  Evidently there have been KKK groups active in Germany since the 1920s.  Today, thanks to the anti-immigrant movement, there is renewed interest in the Klan and its ideals:

In Anlehnung an die nordisch-germanische Ausrichtung des ersten Deutschen Ku Klux Klan, hat sich der „Orden der Teutonischen Ritter des Ku Klux Klan“ gegründet. Aus der Symbol- und Ideenwelt des Ku Klux Klan, und der nordisch-germanischen Kultur, wurde ein ganz neuer Deutscher Ku Klux Klan errichtet, der auf die Bedürfnisse unserer Zeit und unserer Kultur abgestimmt ist. Er ist eine echte Werte-, Kultus- und Kulturgemeinschaft Deutscher Christen mit germanischer Abstammung. Ihn zu fördern bedeutet: das Erbe seiner Ahnen zu ehren und Neues zu schaffen.

(Based on the Nordic-Germanic orientation of the original German Ku Klux Kan, the Oder of the Teutonic Knights of the Ku Klux Klan was founded. From the symbol and ideology of the Ku Klux Klan and Nordic-Germanic culture an entirely new German Ku Klux Klan was established, which deals directly with present-day needs and culture.  It is a community of German Christians with Germanic heritage commited to genuine values and culture.  Its mission is to honor the legacy of our ancestors and create something new.)

It will be interesting to see whether these new reports on the Klan in Germany will energize the American Klansman David Duke to initiate more transnational activities.

Comments

[Hattie]

Blood awful. You could laugh at them if they hadn't murdered people.

[koogleschreiber]

btw, maybe it's only a question of time these white christian fanatics start suicide bombings and terrorist attacks with airplanes...

[michijo]

You know, I grew up in the USA and many people make racist comments or have some degree of racism in their minds. It is not surprising at all to see such a group in Germany or the USA. People tend to be racist to some degree. The superficial politically-correct model of educated thinking is a kind of post-modern lie.

[Hattie]

There is a lot of facile thinking about race. But there are a lot of Americans, like me, for instance, who are not racist.

[Jake]

Real un/funny the two Cops, had no Idea what they getn into: http://kopperschlaeger.net/2012/08/polizei-beim-ku-klux-klan-irren-ist-menschlich/

http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/schwaebische-polizisten-beim-ku-klux-klan-zum-flirten-1.1429592

There are way more Chances to see the Sandman on his V8-Cloud on a regular Base.

[Jake]

One more Thing: "Wehret den Anfaengen" ..... was dismissed right after '45!